The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-20
A VERY CONSCIENTIOUS MAN.
A Case Where Virtue Was Not Prop
erly Rewarded.

erly Rewarded.
NEW York, Nov l9.-One of the best
story-tellers of the present day is Mr.. Robert
NJ. Wilcox, the Meriden manufacturer who
secured wife in Ella Wheeler, the poet.
He is a stalwart, handsome man of easy
manners and perfect good nature. II there
were word similar to omnverous to signify
reader of everything, that word would
apply 70 Mr.. Wilcox. he takes many news
papers, and scans their columns with an UNI
dying Ialth IN the good Judgment or the
editors. Advertisements terrliy him not,
and the patent medicine "ad ~ tucked in at
the end Of an alleged humorous paragraph
arouses no choler. He is particularly fond
of the supplements, where so much good
reading OF a useful character is to be found,
and when, as is TOO often the case, & has no
time to finish a paper, he saves the supple
mentA or unread pages, with religious care
until he shall find an opportunity to go
through them. In this way months some
times elapse before he gets at his supple
nents, and it is seldom the case that he has
less than trunk full of them waiting his
leisure. He took a two-weeks' trip on the
great lakes not long ago, and during the
entire passage he fairly reveled in the pile
of crumpled supplements that had begun to
overrun his trunks. Nevertheless, he does
not find that the American, or any other
newspaper, fully meets his requirements.
For instance he said there was
store destroyed by lightning a few weeks
ago, and the papers had vivid, well written
accounts of the calamity, and many details
of the damage done were fully given. As
the pro, rietor of the store was a warm
friend of mine, | was particularly interested
in the matter. l wanted to learn whether
he had been personally injured in the des-
tructiOn of his property, for the event oc
CURED at time when he would be most
naturally about the premises. | bought
the papers for several successive days and
found no mention one way or the other of
his personal experiences. The thought of
that man suggests a curious story. He is
the most conscientious man ! ever knew.
When first met him he was clerk in his
fathers jewelry store, and the old man had
fond ambition of establishing his son in
the business so that the concern
should continue through the second
generation, if not further. One day
II was noticed that the young man refused
to deal with lady customers. His conduct
was so marked that his father took him to
task for it, The fact is, said the son,
that l do not believe it is right for women
to wear jewelry, and do not propose to
abet or aid them in wicked conduct | will
sell watches or spectacles to men, but no
fippery to women The father demonstrated
III vain. All sorts of pressure were brought
to bear upon him to make him
see the unreasonableness of his atti-
tude. 1t was pointed out that if it
was wrong to wear what was not necessary,
it was wrong even for a man to carry
gold watch, that the works might as well
be enclosed in a tin case. There's some
thing in that admitted the conscientious
! man, and frightened at this result of argu-
ments, he was permitted to take his own
| course. Eventually he made up his mind
| that if he could not conscientiously sell
| jewelry to women, he could not conscien-
tiously share in the profits accruing from
such sales, and accordingly to his fathers
| grief he sold out his interest and established
a store for the sale of optical goods. There
he carried his ideas to the greatest extreme
He would sell spectacles but no eyeglasses,
and the rims could not be Of gold. And he
| further declined to make money; h put his
margin of profit at a very low figure be-
cause he thought profit unjust. The local
trade was distracted at his courS3. He got
most OF he business, and yet mad ; no more
out of it than was sufficient for his living
And finally lightning struck his store and
destroyed it. am afraid that his rivals in
business look upon the event as an interpo-
sition of Providence to convince him of the
error CT his way" f. Il. BURTON.